Category: Ethiopian Orthodox Church

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Ethiopian Orthodox Church

The True Date of the Birth of Christ

DID YOU KNOW THAT the year count in the Ethiopian calendar is 7 years lower than the western one (it’s 2016 in Ethiopia now), as it traditionally places Christ’s birth in 7 AD?

It is well-known that the European date of the birth of Christ, in the so-called year 0, is historically incorrect, in clear continuity with the project of general falsification of Christmas that we witness in the West. It’s interesting to note that even the late Catholic Pope Ratzinger, in his volume “The Childhood of Jesus”, literally admitted that:

“the beginning of our calculation of time – the determination of the birth of Jesus – dates back to the monk Dionysius Exiguus (died around 550), who in his calculations was evidently wrong by a few years… “. And this mistake, according to Pope Ratzinger, should be of “six or seven years“.

Regardless of all the possible speculations regarding the Gospel and its historical credibility, Scripture actually provides us with very precise historical references to locate evidence and witnesses of the told events. And in the case of Christ’s birth, the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, says clearly that:

“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.”

The presence of the Holy Family in Bethlehem is determined by the census of Cyrenius (also said Quirinius), which is historically well documented and indisputably placed in the 6 AD Western Calendar.

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Ethiopian Orthodox Church

The 14 Sufferings of the Cross

፲ ወ ፬ ፡ ሕማማተ ፡ መስቀል ።
ASERTU WE ARBATU HEMAMATE MESQEL
The 14 Sufferings of the Cross

1) Capture – Te(e)hazot ተእኀዞት

– Christ was arrested at 9:00 PM of Thursday (the third hour of the night of Friday, according to traditional counting). He died at the 3:00 PM of Friday (the ninth hour of that day), thus facing an agony of about 18 hours.

2) Back Binding – Teasrote Dehrit ተአስሮተ ፡ ድኅሪት ፡

– His hands were tied behind the back. They also tied 5 ropes around His neck, and by those they pulled and dragged Him in the places of His passion.

3) Slapping of the Jaw – Tetzef’ote Melthat ተጸፍዖተ ፡ መልታሕት ፡

– He was slapped 41 times, in turn, by the Jews, that willingly lost many times their counting, and had him in derision.

4) Flagellation of the Back – Teqeshfote Zeban ተቀሥፎተ ፡ ዘባን ፡

– He was whipped with 41 slashes (the Law of Moses set a maximum of 40) and all the bones of His body were exposed.

5) Spoliation of dress – Te’arqote Lebs ተዐርቆተ ፡ ልብስ ፡

– He was completely naked, though the icons desplay Him with covered genitals for respect.

6) Crown of thorns – Aklile Shok አክሊለ ፡ ሦክ ፡

– He was crowned with a crown having 70 thorns. They placed it above His head, and hammered down it against His head.

7) Plumming of the head – Tekwer’ote Rees ተኰርዖተ ፡ ርእስ ፡

– He was beaten by staff and iron 6666 times

8 ) Bearing the cross – Tzewire Mesqel ጸዊረ ፡ መስቀል ፡

– The Lord bore the vertical staff of the Cross, the “trunk”: it represented Divinity. The horizontal staff was borne by Simon of Cyrenes, and represented Humanity. The Cross was made of 8 different woods, mainly fig tree, but also vine and olive tree.

9) Weakness – Dekam ድካም

10) Falling (3 times) – Wediq ወዲቅ

– When He fell down, the Jews trampled him and walked over His body.

11) Drinking Vinegar with Bile – Sheribe B(e)hie Mesle Hamot ሠሪበ ፡ ብሒእ ፡ ምስለ ፡ ሐሞት ፡

– They gave Him to drink vinegar with elephant bile.

12) Crucifixion – S(e)q(e)let ስቅለት

– He was crucified with 5 nails: two for His hands, one for both His feet, one to merge together the two staffs of the cross, one to sustain the tablet above His head. The 5 nails are called Sador, Alador, Denet, Adera and Rodas. These names are the same of the famous latin magic palindrome: SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS.

– He was perforated with 5 wounds: hands, feet, and side.

– He was crucified on Golgotha, where there was the tomb of Adam, and from where God took the soil to create Him (Elda). He was crucified among two thieves (Diemàs and Ghiestà), the first was pagan and the second was jew. The first converted and was saved, the second was damned.

13) Thirst of Water – Tzema May ጽምአ ፡ ማይ ፡

14) Dieing – Mewit መዊት ፡

– Dieing as an ordinary man, the Lord came down into Siòl (Hell) for 3 hours, and had Satan undergo tremendous tortures and sufferings: he freed the spirits of the fathers, kept as prisoners by the wicked, and entered with them into the Paradise at the sunset of Friday.

From the Cross, He pronounced 7 words:

1) “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
2) “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
3) “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
4) “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
5) “Woman, here is your son…Here is your mother.”
6) “I am thirsty.”
7) “It is finished.”

7 Terrible Signs were manifested:

1) The sun darkened
2) The moon turned into blood
3) The stars shone
4) The veil of the temple was cut
5) The earth was shaken
6) The tombs opened up.
7) The dead rose again.

 

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Ethiopian Orthodox Church Visional Artworks

The Prophets of Old That Did Not Die – Enoch Elijah and Ezra

According to Ethiopian Tradition, only three prophets of old never tasted death: Enoch (top right), Elijah (top left) and Ezra (bottom right). As it was written:
“And now abideth Faith, Hope, Love, these three; but the greatest of these is Love.” (I Corinthians 13:13)
Enoch is also interpreted as Faith, Elyas is interpreted as Love, Ezra is interpreted as Hope. Elyas is thus considered the greatest of all them, and therefore he has been summoned to witness the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor, representing the Prophets together with Moses.
It is said about them in the traditional book of “Zienà Elyas”:
“Halie Luya to the Father, the scales (ladders) of Enoch (the science of language) that He has concealed from the face of death; Halie Luya to the Son, the chariot of Elyas that made him ascend to the heavens. Halie Luya to the Holy Spirit, the bridge of Ezra that made him quit from death unto life.”
On the bottom left we have Elisha, one of the three disciples of Elyas (together with Jonah and Obadiah), that asked for the double of Elyas’s spirit and received accordingly, through his cape, that Elyas threw at him while ascending to heaven, as it is depicted here.
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Ethiopian Orthodox Church Visional Artworks

Qeddus Mikaièl Killed Nazi-Fascism

Damnation of the wicked… Hitler and Mussolini in Hell.
On the top of this Ethiopian icon of Imperial Time, it is written:
“Saint Michael Chief of the Angels, as He killed the dragon of the pagans.“
On the bottom with find the names in ethiopic translitteration of the two wicked ones (Hitler ህትለር; Mussolini ሙሶሊኒ).
On the bottom right, we also find: “Duce and Hitler enter the Sea of Fire” (Revelation of John 20,10).
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Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Triune Fasting

Trinity of Fasting
ይጹም፡ዓይን። Ytzum Ayn / The Eye shall fast
ይጹም፡ልሳን። Ytzum L(e)san / The Tongue shall fast
እዝንኒ፡ይጹም፡እምሰሚዓ፡ሕሡም። (E)zn(e)ni Ytzum EmSemi’a H(e)sum / The Ear too shall fast from hearing vile things.
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Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Abune Yesehaq about the Title of “Light of the World”

“Haile Selassie I was the first Ethiopian king known as Light of the World – in fact, Rastafarians note very carefully that the title belongs to Christ and therefore justifies their argument regarding who the returned Messiah is.”
– Abuna Yesehaq, The Ethiopian Tewahedo Church: An Integrally African Church, page 220.
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Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Ethiopian Epiphany – Timqet ጥምቀት

Melkam Timqet LeKwelkemu
Today 11th day of the Ethiopian month of Ter ጥር, January 19 for the western calendar, the Ethiopian tradition celebrates its Christian Epiphany, which however has nothing to do with the Latin interpretation of the holiday, theologically incorrect and commercialized with pagan distortion.
In fact, we do not celebrate the visit of the Magi or Three Wise Men, which instead took place on the occasion of the birthday of the Lord, two years after his birth, and which is therefore celebrated on the same day as the Orthodox Christmas (7th January).
Epiphany means “manifestation” in Greek, and is translated into Ge’ez with the term “Asteryo” አስተርዮ, which also reveals the unmistakable Semitic construction of the latin/english words “Star” and “Astral”, literally what it shows itself, appears and makes itself seen, from the geez verb Reeye ርእየ “To See”. It is the public manifestation of Christ’s messianic authority, which took place with His baptism by the hand of John the Baptist, in the Jordan River, and it also marks the beginning of Christ’s public ministry as the Father’s High Priest. The feast is therefore also called “Timqet” ጥምቀት, Baptism.
The Lord was baptized at the age of 30 and began preaching, teaching disciples and apostles and administering the sacraments ever since, for 3 years until His crucifixion. In fact, Adam was created in the beginning as a thirty-year-old man, therefore in the age of full male biological maturity, to which Christ reconnects to present himself as New Adam and New Father of Humanity, and to qualify his work as a New Creation of cosmic purification and renewal.
“Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, ‘I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?’ And Jesus answering said unto him, ‘Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness’. Then he suffered him.” (Matthew 3:13-15)
Christ gets baptized in the same manner of sinful men, by hands of a sinful man, despite He had no sins to be washed away. It is thus manifested the mystery of the Perfect Humanity of the Lord, by which he must fulfill all human righteousness, Perfect God and Perfect Man together and in the same time. As a Perfect Man, he is a creature like us, subject to the Law of God, and as such he must accomplish all the things of man in an exemplary way. It is quite curious that certain orthodox people attack Rastafari vision because of the sacraments Haile Selassie I has received as an ordinary faithful, thus they show to ignore the same orthodox christology they pretend to defend.
“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’.” (Matthew 3:16-17)
Here, on the other hand, the mystery of His Divinity and of His Triune Nature is revealed: The Father is pleased in the Son, and crowns him through the Holy Spirit in shape of a dove, which descends and overshadows the head of Christ.
The Lord thus received Baptism through complete immersion in the river, and the Ethiopian Church still baptizes only by completely covering of water of the body of the faithful, unlike the Catholic Church, which bathes only only a small point of the faithful’s forehead, thus administering a ineffective rite which is contrary to any doctrinal logic.
Baptism as a sacramental christian practice is allegorically prefigured by the ablutions of water prescribed by Moses, for the purification of human bodies and things:
“And whosoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall be unclean until the even: and he that beareth any of those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.” (Leviticus 15:10)
The Lord had also promised through prophet Ezekiel (36:25):
“Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.”
And prophet Micah too (7:19), he spoke about this mystery:
“He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”
The Baptism of the Lord was also prophesied by David in the Psalm 76/77:
The waters have seen you O Lord ::
The waters have seen you and feared ::
The abysses of waters quivered; and their waters resounded ::
And again, in Psalm 113/114:
At the time when Israel came out of Egypt ::
And the house of Jacob from the enemy people ::
And Judah became His sanctuary ::
And also Israel His jurisdiction ::
And the sea also saw and fled ::
And also the Jordan turned back ::
The mountains jumped like rams ::
And also the hills like lambs ::
What’s up, sea, that you fled ? ::
And you also Jordan, that turned back ? ::
Mountains, that you jumped like rams ? ::
And you also hills, like lambs ?::
The earth was shaken before the face of Egziabhier ::
Before the face of the God of Jacob ::
Who has made the rock as springs of waters ::
And the flint like cisterns of waters ::
Immediately after baptism, the Lord received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, what is called in the West “Confirmation” or “Chrism” (in Ethiopian language “Mieron” ሜሮን) and which was biblically administered with olive oil to elect Kings or High Priests in Israel. Through this, the charisma of the Holy Spirit is communicated to the Anointed One in seven forms, which allows the faithful to preserve the grace acquired through baptism, just as the ointment after bathing allows the body to keep its cleaness and health. It was in fact written:
“A scepter will come out of the root of Jesse, and cause the fruit to rise from his trunk. And he will make the Spirit of Egziabhier rest upon him, spirit of wisdom and knowledge, spirit of power and counsel, spirit of understanding and justice. The spirit of the fear of Egziabhier will fill him”
(Isaiah 11, 1-3)
The Ethiopian Church administers this sacrament immediately after baptism in a single inseparable rite, according to that Christological model, and the Roman custom shows itself to be profoundly corrupt and senseless in this too, administrating the unction much later from the baptism and separating what God has united.
Here, then, the first two verses of Genesis and of the Bible itself come to mind:
“In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth. But the earth was naked and was not defined, the darkness was above the abyss, and the spirit of Egziabhier overshadows the waters.” (Genesis 1:1-2)
And again, after the flood of water in Noah’s time:
“And the dove returned to him towards evening; and behold, it had a fresh olive leaf in its beak. So Noah understood that the waters had diminished upon the earth.” (Genesis 8:11)
Hence we have the same symbolic physiognomy of the creation with Adam, and of the renewal of creation with Noah, indicating that Christ was beginning on that day to make all things new, a new life.
According to traditional ethiopian books, the dove corresponds to the lamb among the birds, both symbols of purity and innocence, and to the olive tree among the vegetable plants, which blooms as white as the sheep’s coat. It is the symbolism of the tribe of Levi (O-Live), the Lamb, to which the Old Covenant reserves the priestly power, and to which Christ belongs through the mother of the virgin Maryam, Hanna, of the tribe of Levi, and related to Elizabeth, mother of John Baptist: he was priest of the tribe of Levi and officiant of this Divine Rite. The Lord is thus elected High Priest of the Father according to the Law of Moses, fully authorized to administer the sacrifice of Himself, the Lamb who would wash away the sins of the world.
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Ethiopian Orthodox Church

The 12 Tribes of the 12 Apostles

According to the Ethiopian Tradition, each one of the 12 Apostles comes from one among the 12 tribes of Israel, thus fulfilling his own personal life as the prophetical resonance of his ancient tribal Patriarch.

To ovastand the spirtual character of our tribal fathers is the first step to identify symbols and qualities of the 12 tendencies (at-tribu-tes), and it should be taken before any astrological elaboration if one has to discover and determine the I-self.

Take notice of the traditional Ethiopian wisdom, for someone has tried to reconstruct the identity of the Apostles according to individual perspectives and without the knowledge of the fathers, committing many faults and falsifying the doctrine. Nobody can know with surety about the Apostles, except the Ethiopian Orthodox Church descending from the Apostles.

Of Her, Haile Selassie I said: “Ethiopia, an island of Christianity, has made her own distinctive contribution to the Christian faith; for, ever since her conversion to Christianity she has remained faithful, her age-old ties with the Apostolic church uninterrupted”. (Selected Speeches p. 637). “Holy Fathers, as the spiritual descendants of the Apostles of Christ you have an eminent responsibility” (Selected Speeches p. 639).

THE TRIBES OF THE 12 APOSTLES

*** Peter was of the House of Simeon, through his mother.

*** Andrew the brother of Peter, was of the House of Ruben, through his father. In certain instances, Andrew is counted in Simeon and Peter in Ruben.

*** James of Zebedee was of the House of Levi, through his father.

*** John of Zebedee (the Beloved writer of Revelation) was of the House of Judah, through his mother.

*** Philip was of the House of Zebulon.

*** Bartholomew (formerly called John) was of the House of Neftali.

*** Matthew was of the House of Isacchar.

*** Thomas was of the House of Asher.

*** James son of Alpheus, was of the house of Gad.

*** Thaddeus was of the House of Joseph.

*** Simon of Cleopas (also called Nathaniel) was of the House of Benjamin.

*** Judas Iscariot was of the House of Dan.

*** Matyas, the one who replaced Judas Iscariot, was of the House of Efraim (Joseph)

*** Paul (formerly called Saul) was of the House of Benjamin.

Main Ge’ez traditional sources: “Gedle Hawaryat” (“The contendings of the Apostles”), Andemtà (traditional commentary of each book of the Bible), “Book of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth”